Tag Archives: greek

Another backyard party is in my near future, and I just need to remind you about the deliciousness that is my Greek-ish Cous Cous. This is one of my go-to recipes, because I usually have everything on hand, and everyone pretty much likes it. It’s lemon-y and summer-y.

1. Mix lemon juice, vinegar and a tad bit of salt and pepper together in a bowl. If you like olive oil, go ahead and add about a tablespoon to the mix.

2. Follow cooking instructions on the Israeli Couscous box. Add cooked couscous to the bowl containing the dressing. Toss with the vinegar/lemon juice and let it cool down for about 20 minutes in the fridge. I like to stir it around a few times to make sure there is enough dressing on the thing as the couscous will absorb the dressing as it cools.
3. Add the onion, parsley, and feta cheese. Add more lemon juice/vinegar if needed. If you have any other veggies (tomatoes! cucumbers! olives!) that you like, throw them in!

Last night our pal Megan had a birthday potluck. Brent + I spent a large portion of the day doing exactly what we wanted… which was not much other than catching up on the DVR, complaining about where Spring went (it snowed Friday night) and looking around town at vintage shops for a birthday gift. After all that excitement, it was time to get cooking!

I love falafel, but it is often fried and gets a bad rap as being unhealthy. The recipe I made is very healthy, easy and best of all, a very inexpensive recipe! I made a modified version of a Ellie Krieger’s falafel recipe which can be found here.

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Combine all felafel ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process for 10 seconds. Stop motor and scrape down sides of bowl, then pulse for another 10 seconds, until all ingredients are well incorporated but mixture is still slightly coarse and grainy.

this mini chop rules. i'll upgrade to the full size food processor one day!

3. Form mixture into 12-16 falafel balls and spritz with Pam or brush with olive oil.

all in the oven

4. Bake on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes, flip falafel balls and bake an additional 20 minutes, until falafel balls are crisp and browned.

The recipe doesn’t make too many falafel balls, so I’d highly recommend doubling it if you are serving these at a party. To make up for the lack of falafel to go around, I decided to make one of my old staples. A couscous salad of sorts.

I had Israeli Couscous on hand, but this works awesome with quinoa, faro, orzo or regular couscous.

1. Mix lemon juice, vinegar and a tad bit of salt and pepper together in a bowl. If you like olive oil, go ahead and add about a tablespoon to the mix.
2. Follow cooking instructions on the Israeli Couscous box. Add cooked couscous to the bowl containing the dressing. Toss with the vinegar/lemon juice and let it cool down for about 20 minutes in the fridge. I like to stir it around a few times to make sure there is enough dressing on the thing as the couscous will absorb the dressing as it cools.
3. Add the onion, parsley, and feta cheese. Add more lemon juice/vinegar if needed. If you have any other veggies (tomatoes! cucumbers! olives!) that you like, throw them in!

I like to eat the falafel on top of this salad, or wrapped in a pita w/ some salad and lettuce for an awesome lunch or dinner.

Both of these recipes are very easy and are party hits! Feel free to leave out the cheese in the couscous to make it vegan. What’s your favorite thing to bring to a party?